Travel journo pics

here’s a peep… of my a few of my adventures…

I’ve got an appointment to meet Mai Loc, the local photographer this afternoon! Mai Loc was discovered back in 1995, by Norwegian, Gunter and Eva. He was their Cyclo driver at that stage! Loc was learning English; they were impressed by his eagerness, so they promised to pay for future English classes. They formed a friendship, kept in touch, and returned to visit Vietnam again in 1996 and 1997 for Loc’s wedding. They presented him with his first camera as a wedding gift. In 1998 he inherited an amount of money from Gunter, shortly before he passed away. Friends encouraged Loc to sell his postcards/photography, in 2002 Eva returned, and she was so impressed with his progress, she took them back to Norway. In 2006, the Nordiclight Photo Festival in Kristiansund, Norway invited him to attend, and with the support of the Norway Photography Association and government officials, he finally got a visa.

Mai Loc has just opened his own gallery in Nha Trang as well, I was in for a treat! He was waiting at reception for me, with a helmet. Outside he led me towards his moped. Oh my gosh! I’d just seen how these drivers drive in Saigon! What was I thinking when I set up this appointment? “No time for cold feet now Jean!” So helmet on, on the back of his moped I got, and off we sped! In which direction? I couldn’t say! He did say over rush of the wind, and through his helmet that we were heading 35kms out of town!?!!? To a remote fishing village, not filled with tourists! 35kms! Oh dear me. And the sun was setting rapidly! Light was failing, so we sped off. Thankfully the roads in Nha Trang were quieter than Saigon! We got to this little village on the edge of the sea and my camera went into overdrive!

I ruined a pair of shoes with the wet fishy water, but it was a small price for the memory of this amazing afternoon! They say one picture is worth a thousand words? Well read on.

Eventually all my camera disc had all been filled. And the light was fading real fast! So, we sped back to Nha Trang on the back of his moped, me this time like a local, so relaxed and at ease, surprising myself! He took me to his camera shop connection in Nha Trang, where he wheeled and dealed, a good price for some more new disc’s for the rest of my holiday in Vietnam. What a gentleman Mai was. I can thoroughly recommend this experience to anyone with a passion for photography! For further details, contact me for Mai’s contact details, etc.

Next episode –a peep into a Pilates Tour of Vietnam.. where girls had fun!

Have Journal will travel!

I escorted a small group of very energetic Pilates ladies to Vietnam during August 2013.

Wonderful memories were made, new friendship formed, many laughs shared, and many pictures taken!

We did cookery lesson with Ms Vy.. the very iconic chef in Hoi An who started the first Western Style kitchen.

We did Pilates in the most amazing settings.. rooftop gardens, in the middle of rice paddy fields,

We had spa treatments at the famous Banyan tree Lang Co.. amazing!

We slurped, and cheered, and ate and tasted.. from exotic freshly squeezed coconut water, to the most exotic of cocktails..

Thanks girls.. this tour was life changing for me. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did?

I hosted a group tour to Vietnam,Cambodia, and Laos on a PHOTOGRAPHY tour.. August 2014

we met the local photographers along the route..

We ate so many beautiful rice dishes, but the one that stands out to this day is the crunchy red rice from Laos! Many fond memories remain, but I think the overnight train journey from Hanoi to Sapa takes the special note !

This was also a tour to remember .. my second granddaughter, Jemma was born in Sydney.. I was in Siem Reap!

I was blessed to escort a group of golfers to discovers the joys of an African Safari – September 2014

We started off in Camps Bay.. 3 nights.. and then 3 nights at the stunning Lanzerac Hotel,.. then we went to Arabella for one night.. 5 nights at Fancourt Golf Estate and finally 3 nights at Pumba Game Lodge

I did’nt take up playing golf alas girls!

We discovered the Bluest sky and the whitest cloud country

October 2015 will be etched in my mind and in my heart.. the day that DrukAirlines plane landed in Paro, after narrowly missing the houses, and the fields on either side of the run way, and the mountains so tall!

We had a wonderful journey to the Land of Happiness.. thank you Bhutan for sharing your heart with us.

We toured Myanmar (Burma) as well.. April 2016

From Yangon to Bagan .. Irrawaddy River Cruise, to Mandalay to Inle Lake.. it was fabulous!

Pictures tell a 10,000 words!

GlamGirls Lux Travels toured Rajasthan in November 2016 – what a truly wonderful time the four of us had!

From Delhi to Agra, Jaipur, Pushkar, Jodphur, Udaipur.. we ooh’d and aah’d .. we ate, we laughed, we chatted.. we shopped.. we laughed.. we shopped some more!

We had an amazing journey, safe travels ..what more could we ask for.. except more space to pack those parcels!

GlamGirls Lux Travels toured Morocco with a group of 13 very enthusiastic travelers and nomads.. what memories we made! Oct 2017

From Casablanca, to Fes, to Sahara Desert, to the Atlas Mountains, and onto Essouira, and then Marrakesh.. we laughed, shopped, and cried together

Thanks girls, for the memories – they live on in my heart, forever!

GlamGirls Lux Travels toured Rajasthan with a group of friends from USA and S. Africa – Oct/Nov 2017

We bumped over every dirt road in Rajasthan, from Delhi to Varanasi to Agra, to the magnificent tigers (4) in Ranthambhore, then to Jaipur, Pushkar, Bikaner, Jaisalmer,

Jodhpur and finally to Udaipur.. we saw and we conquered and we shopped until we dropped! Thank you new found friends, I thoroughly enjoyed showcasing my beloved India to you, I hope you enjoyed it as well.